The news was delivered at at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on Saturday (July 8), when Governor Norraphat Plodthong announced that an emergency migrant-worker registration centre will be set up to register such workers.
“A message to all illegal migrant workers and their employers: please hold on,” Gov Norraphat said.
“For all migrants who have illegally entered the country to work and all those who have legally entered the country but their employers have not registered them yet, please don’t leave until the Labour Office sets up a centre for employers to register them to confirm they can work legally,” he added.
The emergency migrant worker registration centre will be open at the Phuket Employment Office from July 24 to Aug 7, Gov Norraphat explained.
No mention was made of what hours the centre would be open or any limits on the number of migrant workers to be made legal.
Registration of migrant workers will require nationality verification, Gov Norraphat noted.
“Copies of workers’ ID cards will be sent to a nationality verification centre in Ranong for confirmation,” he explained.
At the meeting Phuket Immigration Chief Col Kathathorn Kumtiang, who arrived on the island two weeks ago, made it plain that no migrant workers or their employers are to be arrested during the six-month reprieve issued by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha last week. (See story here.)
“All officers are not to arrest or fine migrant workers without permits to enter the country or to work in Thailand because during this time the government has implemented Section 44 (of the Constitution) to not enforce these regulations for six months,” Col Kathathorn said.
“Any such migrants arrested and charged during this time will not be processed by the courts,” he added.